Floor Clock

Floor clocks or “grandfather clocks” evolved from Wall clocks. The English clockmaker William Clement is noted as creating the style in 1670. In an effort to increase the accuracy of time pieces, craftsmen increased the length of the pendulum and thus making the cabinets longer and longer. The long cases were eventually made to sit on the ground rather than hang from the wall. Modern floor clocks are usually of a few different styles with ornate carvings of burling of wooden cases, commonly around six to eight feet tall. Glass is often beveled, and weights are most often covered in brass casings. A moon dial often adorns the top of these time pieces that is able to represent the phase of the moon in the sky. Chimes and striking of rods is the most common way to play the melodic tunes representing parts of the hour, although some pieces have long, deep tubes that reverberate tunes similar to cathedrals of Europe.